Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Buying Fruits and Vegetables in Italy - Florence




I would be remiss if I continued to forget the recent death of Luciano Pavarotti. Tomo is one of the better 'madonnari' here in Firenze, Italia.
After the famous singer's death, Tomo created in the street several pastel drawings of the admired Italian. People responded
very well and he was even interviewed and photographed for a Florentine newspaper. Smart marketing!

The other image is one that I took (obviously -- mi dispiace) in a small grocery store in Florence, Italy. Many businesses in Italy,
especially Florence, have come to recognise that they sell more if they can communicate in English. Some things get lost in
translation, but I find them a bit
charming anyhow. (Probably because I hope Italians might feel the same way when they hear my broken speech of their native tongue.)


This sign explains how fruits and vegetables are weighed and priced by the customer before arriving at the
checkout counter. In case you cannot read the words in the image, they are:

"Customers are prayed to use gloves and plastic bags for fruit and vegetables.

Use the scale in order to weigh and price the chosen goods. Than digit the corresponding key (number).

Thank you."

I enjoyed how the noun 'digit' became a verb. My first time in a grocery store here was a small education. But what you find is
if you will simply take extra time to watch how the locals do things, you can pick up the system fairly easily.

Till next time . . .

No comments: